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Thursday, September 27, 2012

In a Massachusetts courtroom, a legal battle is brewing that
could have enormous consequences for victims. As a result of a plea deal that
put a man on probation for 16 years for raping a then-14 year old girl, the
convicted rapist can now seek visitation rights for the child conceived during the rape.
Even just on the face of it, many people have a gut reaction that this is not
right.

There is a deeper aspect of this case, however, that
hearkens back to the furor created by the “legitimate rape” comments by MO
Senatorial Candidate Todd Aiken. While Rep. Aiken clarified his “legitimate”
rape comment on Mike Huckabee’s radio show by explaining that he meant
“forcible” rape. That type of parsing of language, fiddling with definitions, only
leads to the undermining of the experience of all rape victims.

In the Massachusetts case, there is an undercurrent of the
legitimacy question- asking what really counts as rape. According to a story
from a Boston Fox affiliate, the convicted rapist’s lawyer would not comment on
the visitation request, but did say that the relationship between the victim
and perpetrator was “consensual,” although “inappropriate.” No. It was not
consensual; it was rape. Statutory rape is rape. The perpetrator pled guilty to
four counts of raping a 14-year old girl when he was 20 years old.

To call the Massachusetts situation consensual is to
de-legitimate the experience of the victim, who according to reports, still
suffers from anxiety and depression. To call it “inappropriate,” is to severely
understate the trauma of victimization. To accidentally call forcible rape
“legitimate rape” is to undermine the experiences of all victims whose rape
experience doesn’t exactly mirror a narrow definition. Please call it what it is. Rape. Is. Rape.